01 The
Enterprisewas
justoneof
thesacrifices
madefor
Spock.
02 Sarek
instigatesThe
Searchfor
Spock.
McCoy comforted his friend with a
surgeon’s skill, advising Kirk that he
haddone, “What you had to do, what
youalways do... turn death into a
fighting chance to live.”
While the entire command
crewparticipated in the endeavor to
retrieve Spock, Sarek summarized all
thatKirk sacrificed once the admiral
arrivedon Vulcan in the stolen Bird-
of-Prey. In an attempt to express his
gratitude, Sarek acknowledged that
themission had laid to rest Kirk’s ship
andson. Kirk simply replied, “If I
hadn’ttried, the cost would have
beenmy soul.”
Thirty-fiveyearsago,AdmiralJames
T.KirkandtheU.S.S.Enterprisecrew
embarkedonanepicmissiontorescue
SpockandreunitetheVulcanwith
hiskatra,inStarTrekIII:TheSearch
forSpock. Spockfamouslysacrificed
hislifetoservetheneedsofthe
manyfollowingthebattlewithKhan
NoonienSinghinthepreviousfilm,
andhisfriendsdisplayedthesame
selflessnesswhenthetimecameto
placeeverythingonthelineto
saveSpock.
RiskingAll
Kirkdemonstratedhiswillingness
toriskallforSpockwhenSarek
revealedthenatureof thekatra
thatresidedinDoctorMcCoy.The
ambassadorpleadedwithKirkto
bringSpock’sbodyandMcCoyto
MountSeleya.Afteracknowledging
thetask’sdifficulty,Kirksworetofind
a waytofulfillSarek’srequest.Kirk’s
resiliencewasimmediatelytestedby
AdmiralMorrow’srefusaltogranthim
permissiontotaketheEnterprisetothe
Genesisplanet,anorderwhichMorrow
issuedwitha warning,“Keepupthis
emotionalbehavior,andyou’lllose
everything...you’lldestroyyourself!”
Undeterred,Kirkdefied
thedirectivebydisobeyingthe
CommanderofStarfleet’swishes
andassemblingScotty,Sulu,
Uhura,Chekov,andMcCoyforthe
unauthorizedjourneytotheMutara
sector.LedbyKirk,theofficers
endangeredtheirStarfleetcareersand
committedoffensesworthyofa court
martialwhentheyconspiredtosteal
theEnterprisefromspacedockand
broketheGenesisquarantine.
Kirk’sCost
Unfortunately,Starfleetregulations
provedtobethemosttrivialcasualties
causedbyKirk’sexcursion.Ambushed
byKrugeandaBird-of-Preyat
Genesis,theadmiralwasforcedto
listenfromtheEnterprise’s damaged
bridgeas a Klingonmurderedhisson,
DavidMarcus.
Pushedintoanimpossible
situation,Kirkmanagedtogather
hissensesandsettheselfdestruct
sequencefortheEnterprisetocatch
theKlingonboardingpartyoffguard.
AsKirkandhiscohortswatched
theirbelovedstarshipburnupfrom
thesurfaceofGenesis,theadmiral
questionedhisactionsinanguish.
Sacrificing
for Spock
SpockmadetheultimatesacrificeinStarTrekII:The
WrathofKhan, givinghislifesothatthecrewofthe
Enterprisemightlive.ButeachofSpock’sfriendsmade
theirownsacrificesinStarTrekIII:TheSearchfor
Spock, puttingtheirstanding,theircareers,eventheir
livesonthelineinordertorescuehim.Asthefilm
celebratesits35thanniversary,StarTrekMagazine
recallsthesacrificesmadeforSpock.
WORDS:JAYSTOBIE
02
01
ANALYSIS
